High and Low
by SureThingsFall
Summary: Emily still works for the BAU, JJ never did, Emily meets Will at a hotel after a tough case. Find out what happens!
1. Chapter 1

**AN - Something new! I kind of only wanted to do one story at a time, because I haven't really written much before and tend to lose interest in things too easily. But all these ideas in my head are just driving me nuts. So here's another one :) And of course, I don't own anything, it's all Criminal Minds' stuff. Anyone else missing Agent Prentiss already? ;)**

* * *

**"Staring at the bottom of your glass**  
**Hoping one day you will make a dream last**  
**The dreams come slow and they go so fast**  
**You see her when you close your eyes**  
**Maybe one day you will understand why"**  
** – Let Her Go by Passenger**

The tall dark haired woman walked into the hotel's bar area. It was a lot nicer than she was expecting, soft music was playing, accompanying the soft and comfortable lighting, the dark hardwood floor boards were met with dark blues and reds where paint or furniture were concerned, and it was clean, that was always a plus. Not feeling like taking a booth and potentially having to end up dealing with any of the hotel's other patrons she sat down on her stool and waited to order her drink.

He narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of the fair skinned beauty walking in to the bar area. He was what some would consider a regular here, and he was certain he hadn't seen her here before, yet she walked with a certain confidence. She walked with a slight determination; she didn't look nervous or cautiously let her eyes travel around the room like most of the single women he had observed. In that moment he made up his mind, she was the one.

Emily Prentiss worked for the FBI, more specifically the Behavioural Analysis Unit. It had been a particularly rough case that her team had just returned from and she wasn't ready to go home yet. She just felt like she wanted to be around other people, not to interact with them or meet anyone, she just wanted the comfort of knowing she was around others and that they were also waging through their everyday battles and surviving just the same. As she realized that the bartender was finally heading her way she opened her mouth to order, only to be interrupted. "I'll cover whatever the pretty lady wants" The voice drawled. '_Oh my god. What the hell is that horrible accent. Could that even be classified as a Southern drawl, or was this guy already three sheets to the wind..it's only 9 o'clock' _she thought and glanced at her watch. "Hey, thanks, but I can pay for myself" She tried to give him a polite smile as he leaned against the bar next to her and interrupted "I know sweety, I know. But I'd like to" He sent his most charming smile her way, knowing it had worked for him several times before. "I was actually wondering what such a beautiful woman was doing here all alone…" Emily needed to stop this now, she opened up to speak and the man held up his hand and looked at her, not going to give her the opportunity. He then extended his hand and Emily reluctantly shook it "I'm Will. Nice to meet you…" "Emily." She replied shortly, wanting to just get this over with so she could have her drink and go. "Well, Emily, maybe after a few drinks you'd like to join my wife and I." His lips started to curl upwards "I can assure you that she may not seem it at first, but she is just as charming as myself, and almost as good in bed" He winked and was now wearing a full grin. This was going to same way as all of his other conquests, surely she couldn't resist his southern charm and would be up in his room in no time.

"Excuse me?! No. Wait, wife? What…no. Leave. Now." Emily exclaimed, this was the last thing she needed today. What was he even thinking…and he has a wife that is okay with this? She let out a sigh as he walked away, distracted by another girl that had just called him from just outside the doors. '_Maybe that's the wife?' _She thought '_Maybe he'll just go away now.' _She shook her head to try to clear her thoughts and finally ordered her drink.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Guys I can guarantee you that Will and Emily will not be together in any way lol just, no. I was going to leave this chapter to sit for a bit longer, but at the same time I think some things have to be established a little sooner rather than later. Hopefully the puzzle pieces will start falling into place for you! :)**

* * *

"Right now  
Everything you want is wrong,  
And right now  
All your dreams are waking up,  
And right now  
I wish I could follow you  
-Honey and the Moon/Joseph Arthur

Emily sat staring just past the rim of her glass. _What a shitty day._ She'd often have these thoughts after rough cases; about how people could be so horrible to one another, if they had done everything they possibly could, how no matter how hard they tried there was always suffering. _How is it fair that we just pack up and leave after a case, but them, the victims, remain there, having to suffer through the consequences and their own thoughts. _It was a bit ironic, as some would consider it harder to be a member of the BAU and have to deal with these cases all the time and remain strong and level headed. Usually she would join the rest of the gang for drinks afterwards, but she didn't feel like being with them right now, she just needed a little space. So she decided to go to the bar at the hotel where her mother always stayed when she was in town, she was almost certain she wouldn't run into anyone she knew there. She could just sit there, lost to the world, and let herself think through everything going through her head.

Being so lost in thought she never noticed the bar pick up and get slightly busier. She wouldn't really have expected it to get busier anyway, it was only Tuesday night, shouldn't people be sleeping or something? But then again, she wasn't.

A few moments later a blonde quietly took the stool next to Emily and ordered herself a drink. She noticed Emily out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. She played with her glass a little and looked over, she wasn't really in a good mood, and didn't want to be here, she rarely ever did, is it really a good idea to try to help someone else when she has her own issues? "Hey…" She finally focused her gaze on Emily, expecting a response. Nothing. Emily didn't budge, she just kept staring ahead. The blonde squinted, focusing a little more and leaned in a bit closer, assuming the dark haired girl hadn't been able to hear her before "Hey…are you alright?"

Emily snapped out of it, slowly coming back to it. She kept her eyes down, not trusting that she had her emotional and mental walls back in place yet. "Yeh…I'm…just a shitty day" _Why did I say that? I should have just said I'm fine. _"Oh." The blonde was taken back a bit, she had pegged the woman next to her as someone who would have been a little more hesitant to admitting to anything other than being okay. 'I know about those' she muttered to herself "Do you want to talk about it?" Emily heard the quiet muttering and silently tried to analyze it, what did she mean she knew all about those? She kept her eyes from looking up, knowing that her need to analyze the stranger would become stronger if she saw her. She just shook her head a little "What about your day? Here to relax and wind down as well?"

The blonde sat trying to think of how to respond, borderline mumbling her response "I guess you can say that…trying to avoid another pointless argument, maybe?" She tried to think of why she was really there, she knew she didn't want to be. "To be honest, I have no idea."

Emily's brow furrowed a bit. "What?" She suddenly realized her manners "Sorry, I mean, you don't know why you're here? Do _you _want to talk about it?" She tried to keep her resolve to keep looking down intact. "Maybe, why don't you go first…" The blonde looked back over to Emily, hoping to find out what seemed to have this woman so flustered. _Why do I even care, she thought. It isn't like I know her, or will get to know her…_Her stomach flopped. _Why did thinking about not getting to know this mystery woman make her feel that way._

Emily sighed and took a deep breath "I'm…fine. Just a…rough day at work…" "Oh. Well if you don't mind me asking, what do you-" The blonde was interrupted by Emily, who was suddenly angry at the man from earlier, thinking that the was okay to just proposition strangers like that "And then I came here to wind down and some _asshole _tried to pick me up! And get this, not just to try to get my number or something. To go his room with him. AND not just him, but his WIFE" she threw her arms up and mocked the man, "Will", from earlier and used air quotes, to which the blonde thought was kind of adorable until what Emily said had registered with her "she's just as charming as myself, and _almost_ as good in bed" she exclaimed the last part with a bit of extra emphasis, grumbling "egotistical douchebag"

The blonde swallowed hard, feeling herself get a little red in the cheeks. _This can't be happening, that fucking idiot. Did he seriously do-_

Emily slowly wound herself down from her little rant and tried to calm back down "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name, I'm Emily…" She gave up her resolve and turned her head to look at her conversation partner as she extended her hand to greet the woman. When her eyes met the blonde she grew slightly worried, for more than one reason, the poor woman looked like she had just seen a ghost, and yet Emily couldn't help but feel that her breath had just been stolen. _I'd hate to think of what would have happened if she had of been smiling. Hopefully someone in here would have at least known CPR or enough to call an ambulance. _She chuckled inside her head a little and how ridiculous she thought she was being in a situation like this and returned her focus to the blonde "Are you sure you're alright? You look like you've seen a ghost…and you still haven't said anything…"

The blonde swallowed again, her mouth seemed impossibly dry. She slowly returned her gaze to Emily and hoped she wasn't going to her a drink, or worse, a fist hurled at her for what she was about to say. Emily sat there silently analyzing her, what was she thinking? What triggered it? Why so sudden? Oh my god, had this man asked her the same thing? Had he done something worse? She couldn't help but let her mind wander to the horrible crimes she dealt with at work on a regular basis.

She was thrown out of her thoughts when her mysterious conversation partner cleared her throat.

"Sorry, I'm uhm…JJ…" She looked down and her voice softened, she slowly looked back up with a sad smile "the asshole's wife…" Emily clenched her jaw as JJ held in her breath and got up to leave.


	3. Chapter 3

"I-I-I-I-I want to love you, but if it's not right what can I do, everything will be alright, so baby get some sleep tonight" – Marilyn by G-Eazy

* * *

Emily was so lost in her own mind that she didn't even realized she had reached out to hold her new friend in place. "Don't go…" barely left her lips; she didn't know what she was doing…I should be angry, or disgusted…or _something_, I shouldn't want her to stay. What does she even see in that man. She shuddered just thinking about it.

JJ watched as the brunette seemed to go through some sort of inner struggle. _Should I say something? I don't know what to say, I don't even understand why she doesn't hate me. Oh God. She doesn't actually want to go through with the Will thing, does she?! I can't deal with this right now._

"Uhh,sorry, I mean…you can go, if you want to.." Emily stammered out "But you don't have to, or anything like that…"

JJ slowly sat back down as she felt a heat rush through body. _Why does she have to be so damn adorable when she rambles like that. I shouldn't be having these feelings towards this woman…this gorgeous, outstanding woman…dammit, please someone save me from myself._

"We can talk about something else!" The blonde watched as brown eyes lit up at her own proposal. _God, those beautiful brown eyes. _Emily wiggled around on her stool trying to think of something else to talk about, anything that would clear the awkwardness that hung in the air around them.

JJ swallowed hard as she thought of something to say to help her new friend out "I'm glad you turned him down…" _Fuck. Why did I say that, we're trying NOT to talk about that. _"I, uhm, I mean…I….just…" she felt herself getting more and more embarrassed

Emily's eyes shot up to meet JJ's, did she really just hear that correctly? _Oh hell no. He better not harm this angel. Wait-she's glad? Maybe she wants me for herself, I- _Thoughts flew her head. _Ugh, get it together Prentiss. She's just being a good person, it's nothing…He better not force her to do anything she doesn't want to. I can't even – ugh. Why am I so concerned for this woman. _She couldn't help but smile and extended her arm to put a reassuring hand on JJ's shoulder to try to calm her down. "Hey…JJ…look at me…it's okay…" She waited until those stunning blue eyes met hers "do you want to talk about it?"

JJ sighed and her shoulders slumped. _Why am I so horrible with words around her? Words are my job, I'm a journalist for crying out loud. _"I…uhm…I just…" she felt Emily's hand rub her arm and found it even harder to put words together. Everything this beautiful brunette touched just seemed to tingle in some strange fantastic way. She took a deep breath and slowly let it go "Just let me get through this, please…I don't really like what he does…I always knew he was a bit of a ladies man, but it was supposed to be just us…this just kind of got started and now it happens far too often…and I know they always say that there's a way out…I just…there's no clear way, it seems like there's no win…if I say no he just goes off with the new girl on his own…I…I don't know…" She felt her eyes water and turned towards the bar to cradle her head in her hands. _Why did I even just say all that, the woman isn't my damn therapist. She shouldn't have to deal with all this, surely she's going to sprint out the door now._

"How long have you been married for?" JJ looked up while still avoiding eye contact, completely surprised that the brunette was still sitting there let alone talking to her "Not even a whole year…" she let out a sad laugh "How sad is that?" Emily squinted her eyes a little, focusing on the blonde beauty and trying to get all of her thoughts together, she had thought the blonde must have been married for a long time and this had started because of some sort of lull; but not even a year? Something wasn't right. Her heart ached when she heard a sniffle and saw a tear trail down JJ's pale skin.

"Hey…" she reached out and gently wiped any fallen tears away with her thumb, keeping her hand softly cupping the side of her face in an effort to get the blonde to look at her "everything will be okay…I know I'm in no place to offer relationship advice, but if you ever need anything I'll be here for you…" she carefully twisted herself to grab a card out of her jacket, she turned back and desperately tried to ignore that JJ's hand that had fallen onto her thigh, if she had any hope of being able to listen to what this stunning woman might say, she had to ignore the hand. _Why do these damn stools have to be so close anyway…not that I really mind…dammit Prentiss, concentrate. _She scribbled down her personal number on the back of the card and handed it JJ "Here. I'll stay with you as long as you'd like tonight, and if you ever need anything again, just give me a call" as her eyes met JJ's she smiled and was suddenly engulfed in a huge hug. "Thank you, Emily…so much…I have no idea why you care, or why you haven't just yelled at me and left…but thank you…this-" Her eyes widened and she pulled back from the hug leaving Emily thoroughly confused.

"JJ?" Emily wondered what had happened, did she do something wrong? Something clearly upset JJ, she still hadn't said anything and was staring beyond her "JJ? Are you okay?"

"Ahh, I see my two lovely ladies for the evening have met…"


	4. Chapter 4

"**I just want to know you better know you better know you better now  
I just want to know you know you know you  
Cause all I know is we said hello  
And your eyes look like coming home  
All I know is a simple name, everything has changed"  
- Everything Has Changed, Taylor Swift (Feat. Ed Sheeran)**

* * *

"Ahh, I see my two lovely ladies for the evening have met…"

Emily's jaw clenched as her free hand balled into a fist. Something similar to fear flashed through JJ's eyes as she sat almost frozen in place. The profiler took a deep breath and tried to calm herself her turning in her seat.

Her eyes briefly took in her new friend as she turned and it felt as though an anchor had been attached to her heart, endlessly sinking as she saw the pain and fear? That was written all over the blonde's face. Her heart sped up as she wondered who could ever make that beautiful soul hurt like that. As if answering her own question her eyes caught the red haired woman hanging off of Will, looking slightly confused although neither her or Will showed any signs of letting go of each other. Her jaw clenched again as the man started to speak again.

"Looks like we'll be having even more fun tonight," He grinned at winked towards Emily and JJ "Lucky me, I don't even have to choose between ginger, blonde or brunette. Must be my lucky day"

Emily felt sick to her stomach as his words passed through her mind. Hearing his voice was bad enough, thinking of him and her new friend JJ was worse…but what he just said…she felt her stomach clench. That's when her mind kicked in; her eyebrow raised slightly as she smirked.

"Actually, Will," conveying her disgust saying his name "As it turns out, I've already got a date,"

JJ's heart dropped. Was she even still breathing? Would Emily really just leave her like this. _She said she'd always be there for me…and now she might have just made it worse with that last comment. What is she even do-_She felt an arm wrap around her waist. A blush slowly rose to her cheeks, she felt…almost happy…but how could she with everything going on.

Emily's eyes met JJ's and she tried to explain as much as she could with a look; to let her know she would keep her safe, to trust her, that she would never let this man touch her again as long as she could help it. She pulled the blonde closer as they both stood and returned her gaze to Will. "a date with a rather astonishing blonde, you should know" She felt her chest swell as JJ moved closer and whispered in her ear and grinned like the Cheshire Cat placing her free hand passively on the blonde's hip and leaned in to whisper back "don't freak out, okay? I want to make this good, hopefully you'll think it's worth it too…" she gently took JJ's ear lobe between her mouth and grazed her teeth along as she lowered her head to kiss her way down and suck on her pulse point. JJ's head was reeling; she wondered what the brunette was up to when she felt a hand on her hip, her eyes widened at the warm breath playing across her neck and the close proximity of their bodies. She was trying to process what Emily was trying to tell her when she felt the gentle tugging on her ear…and those sweet, soft lips on her neck…_Oh God. _She fought to keep her eyes from rolling back and leaned in closer to Emily, almost needing to for support. She willfully neglected her thoughts telling her that the brunette was just doing this to piss off Will and help her out, in her mind right now all she could think of was more of this wonderful woman doing this for different reasons.

Will watched as his blood boiled. It was one thing that this woman had turned him down, but now she thinks she's going to take _his _wife?! What is she doing now, why is JJ reacting that way. There is no way she's getting away with this. Just as he's about to speak up he sees Emily's head turn to meet his eyes "Don't wait up, we'll be busy for a while…" She grinned devilishly and winked, mocking his actions from earlier in the evening.

The profiler in Emily could see the man's anger escalating, deciding she had too much to drink to be able to trust herself to interfere with his actions should it get that far, she turned on her heels and kept JJ at her side.

Will was seething, his body was tensed and he wanted to lash out. He almost forgot about the woman practically hanging off of him and almost shoved her off before struggling to regain his composure and rushed out the door. He looked around and cursed as he turned to kick the door frame to let out some of his anger. They were already gone. Shit.


	5. Chapter 5

"I wanna know where you go

When you're dreaming

I wanna see what you see

When your eyes close

And when it all goes down

Will you have a place to run?

Cause I don't know and I can't tell what you're thinking

So we'll just drive through the night

Till we find some kind of home"

Some Kind of Home by Thriving Ivory

Emily almost toppled over laughing, she couldn't help it. "Did you see the look on his face?! Oh man, that was so great!" She smiled and looked up to JJ as she tried to stand and compose herself a bit more. _What would the Ambassador think if she saw you like this, Prentiss?_

JJ softly smiled watching her new friend. _She's so beautiful when she smiles, her laugh is heart melting. _Her smile slowly turned to a small frown as she tried to hide her disappointment. Surely the brunette wouldn't see any need to hang out with her anymore, she had her fun, she'd move on. _But what do I do? I can't go back to him…especially after this…not that I'd want to…_

Emily recognized the discomfort on the other woman's face and put her hand on the blonde's arm in an attempt to comfort her. She briefly hesitated as she wondered what would or wouldn't be appropriate and almost laughed at herself considering what had just taken place inside the bar. "JJ…are you okay? I'm sorry…I shouldn't have been so insensitive…"

JJ tried her best to smile and hold back the tears she knew were eventually going to come "No…it's not that…I mean, you're fine…I mean, what you did…are doing…whatever, wasn't-" She groaned and shut her eyes, trying to put together what she was trying to say "I just don't know what to do now" She sighed and looked downwards not wanting to hear what was going to come next.

A million thoughts flew through Emily's mind, wondering what had shaken the blonde. She was normally extremely talented at reading human behaviour; it was her job after all, and she did excel at it. But now, she was at a loss. Without thinking, her natural charm took over and she quickly wrapped her arms around JJ and gave her a reassuring squeeze and pulled back just enough to gently raise the blonde's head so their eyes met and tried to hide an almost overconfident smirk "Well, I do have a date with a gorgeous blonde I should probably be getting to…"

"Oh…" JJ's gaze dropped and she tried to hide her disappointment

Emily's features drew in confusion at her new friend's reaction. Surely she couldn't have misread the signs that badly, had she? Then it hit her, _man she's so cute, I can't believe she…she couldn't really think she meant someone else could she? _She silently thanked the universe for granting her the profiling skills she had because it was ridiculously hard to understand people even with them, she didn't want to think of the wreck she'd be in without them. She smiled and slid her hands down JJ's arms and into her hands, giving them a little squeeze to regain the other woman's attention she titled her head towards the door and gave a gentle tug at her hands. JJ looked a bit hesitant and caused Emily to smile even wider "You know _you _are the gorgeous blonde, right?"

JJ looked brighter and moved to step forward before slightly frowning "I…" "Don't worry," the dark haired woman interrupted "I don't intend to do anything to make you feel uncomfortable," she pulled the blonde into a friendly embrace and continued "I'm just guessing you'd rather not be alone right now…and, well, I'd feel better if you weren't…whatever we do is completely up to you, we can go out somewhere, go to my place and get take out, get a room here…whatever you'd like…" she smiled as JJ relaxed and leaned into the embrace "thank you…"


End file.
